Man shot late Tuesday; second Stockton homicide victim of the day (UPDATE 2)

Wednesday

Jun 4, 2014 at 9:06 AMJun 4, 2014 at 12:40 PM

STOCKTON – Homicide detectives were just finishing their work at the scene of a homicide in a north Stockton neighborhood late Tuesday night when another man was shot to death in south Stockton, authorities said. Two others were injured in the shooting.

The Record

STOCKTON – Homicide detectives were just finishing their work at the scene of a homicide in a north Stockton neighborhood late Tuesday night when another man was shot to death in south Stockton, authorities said. Two others were also injured.

The second shooting was reported at 11:08 p.m. near South Phelps and Julian streets, just south of the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, police said. Officers ​found a 31-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, said Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.

Silva confirmed that a man and woman also were injured, but their conditions are unknown at this time.

The 31-year-old victim – Identified by the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office as Tavarrius Hooper – was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, Silva said. Hooper's death marks the 20th homicide Stockton police have investigated in 2014, up from 10 at this time a year ago.

A neighbor who knew the victim casually as a father with a baby on the way who​had ​lived in Stockton his entire life said Wednesday morning, “I watched him take his last breath. I am tired of this killing. It's got to stop,” said La-Fell White, 43, saddened by the death of the man he knew as “T.”

“He wasn't a bad person. He had a lot of people who loved him. I'm hurt, I'm overwhelmed because I know his circumstances. I know he loved his kids, he loved his girl,” White said, recalling how the victim was teaching one of his children to ride a bike on the same street where he was gunned down.

White said there was a birthday party going on at the victim's home Tuesday night. He was inside his residence playing dominoes with friends when he went outside to see the victim walking west on Julian toward Phelps.

“I heard him: 'I don't know what y'all are mad about? I only asked you y'all to leave,'” White said, speculating that the victim was attempting to break up the party when things turned violent. There were about 60 people in front of his house and, the next thing he knows, White heard several gunshots, people screaming.

“Kids crying. Wife crying, for someone who can't come back. I hope the city cracks down on this. We need more police. I don't know if that's going to stop it, but we need more protection down here. It's senseless,” White said.

White said he saw the victim lying out on the southeast corner of Phelps and Julian.

“He was just telling people to leave his house. They just stole his life from him. He was always committed to his kids,” said White, who described himself as a neighborhood peacemaker who has diffused a number of fights that he said could easily have escalated into gun violence.

“Sometimes you have to intervene. People are dying. They aren't ever going to life their life. I try to keep the peace or we'd be calling the police all the time. I could have stopped this, but I'm just worn out,” White said. “I've got to live with that.”

Then he said, “We need more police presence. If not, it's going to be a deadly summer.”

Hooper was the second man shot to death in Stockton in a span of less than 10 hours Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, police were called to the 9300 block of Kirkby Lane, just south of East Morada Lane and east of Fox Creek Drive. Upon arrival, officers located a 19-year-old man lying in the street with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information about these cases ​should call the Stockton Police Department at (209) 937-8377, the Investigations Unit at (209) 937-8323 or Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards up to $10,000. Callers can remain anonymous.

Cellphone users can text information to 274637 (CRIMES) by entering the keyword “TIPSPD” followed by their tip. Internet users can visit the Police Department's Facebook page and click “Submit a Tip.”

Read Thursday's Record for more on this story by staff writers Jason Anderson and Joe Goldeen.